Eléments pour un repositionnement de l'innovation de défense au sein du système d'innovation français

The magnitude of military R&D credits within national budgets expresses options in favour of security; beyond that point, it is also of consequence on national S&T policies. Indeed, we can wonder about the contribution of military R&D not only to security goals, but also to the overall economic performances. In other words, the question is whether some countries are right to support technological evolution through military R&D? And if the answer is positive, which are the most suited institutions and organisation patterns for a fruitful relationship between military R&D and the overall economic performances. It seems to us that the answer lies in integrating civilian and military innovation structures appealing on the concept of dual-use. The implementation of this falsely simple solution requires the working out of organisational tools. The purpose of this article is to introduce organisational tools and patterns on which to build a French dual-use policy. We will proceed in two parts: first we will present an analytical model of technological change (Metcalfe and Saviotti, 1984), which constitutes our framework for the analysis of the "de-compartmentalisation" of civilian and military technologies. We will then present the main three action principles guiding dual-use policies and the conditions of their applicability in France.